Locking device for fluorescent bulbs



Oct. 4, 1960 F. BINDER ETAL 2,955,274

LOCKING DEVICE FOR FLUORESCENT BULBS Filed Feb. 11, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

FRED BINDER By BURTON A. BINDER ATTORNEYS Oct. 4, 1960 F. BINDER ETAL 2,955,274 LOCKING DEVICE FOR FLUORESCENT BULBS Filed Feb. 11, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. FRED amosa BY BURTON A. amoan ATTORNEYS United States Patent LOCKING DEVICE FOR FLUORESCENT BULBS Fred Binder and Burton A. Binder, both of 2555 Bellevue, Detroit 7, Mich.

Filed Feb. 11, 1959, Ser. No. 792,485

'5 Claims. (Cl. 339-54) This invention relates to a locking device for fluorescent bulbs and more particularly to a device for locking the end of an elongated type fluorescent bulb to its support post, to which it is connected, to prevent the bulb from falling off the post or from having its electrical connection broken.

Elongated type fluorescent bulbs are normally supported at their opposite ends upon support posts connected to a lighting fixture. The ends of the bulbs plug into the post and are usually electrically connected thereto. The connections between the bulb and the posts normally are adequate to prevent the bulb from falling off the post. However, under certain conditions, such as within a factory where machinery causes vibration or where there are shocks or loads imposed upon the bulb, or where the posts are slightly defective in gripping the ends of the bulb, bulbs occasionally fall free from their posts. In such cases, the bulb falls down and breaks. Depending upon the type of fixture, the bulb may fall to the floor and shatter or it may fall to the bottom of the fixture and remain there.

Thus, it is an object of this invent-ion to provide a locking device which locks the ends of the fluorescent bulb to its two support posts so that the bulb cannot be removed from the support posts regardless of loads or vibration or the like until some individual manually unlocks the locking device to remove the bulb.

A further object of this invention is to form such a locking device inexpensively and preferably out of a single sheet of thin springy material, such as a thin gage sheet metal, formed to lock against the support posts without any separate mechanical fastening means.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a locking means which frictionally locks itself to the support posts without any separate mechanical fastening means, and which grips the bulb between a pair of jaws to prevent the bulb from falling off the posts.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following description of which the attached drawings form a part.

With reference to the attached drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a conventional support post, the locking device, and a bulb end, to indicate how they would be assembled together.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the locking device per se,

I and Fig. 3 is a side view taken in the direction of arrows 3 on Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a top view taken in the direction of arrow 4 of Fig. 2.

With reference to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a conventional fluorescent electric fixture support post having a front face 11 provided with a bulb receiving socket 12 into which the end 13 of an ordinary elongated fluorescent lighting bulb 14 is connected.

The post is provided with a base 15 which is secured to the lighting fixture and to which the electrical connections are made. The post and the bulb are conventional and are of the type normally found in overhead fluores cent lighting fixtures.

The improvement hereof comprises the locking device 20 which is formed to lock the bulb end to the support I post.

The locking device is preferably formed of a single sheet of thin, springy sheet material, such as springy-sheet metal, and is bent into the form of a back portion 21' adapted to fit against the back of the post with the side edges of the back portion being bent into side flanges 22 to form a channel 23. The post 10 fits snugly within the channel.

A portion of the side flanges near one end of the locking device is bent along the free edges thereof into front, flanges 24 which terminate in spring portions 25 which are bent towards the back portion 21. The front flange portion 25, being springy, resiliently moves away from the back portion 21'when the post is slipped into the channel 23 and spring grips thepost to prevent removal of the locking device from the post except under the application of a heavy pull or force.

Near the opposite end of the device, the side flanges 23 are extended into springy arms 28 which terminate in jaws 29. The jaws are preferably covered by rubber or the like, resilient sleeve 30, so that they may not scratch or mar the bulb which is grasped between the jaws 29. Note, in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 the sleeve is omitted for illustration purposes.

The jaws are resiliently compressed towards each other and are locked in compressed position to thus grasp and grip the end 13 of the fluorescent tube 14. It can be seen, that the jaws are arranged to be in alinement with the socket 12 of the post 10 and are on opposite sides of the post.

The means for compressing and locking the jaws comprises a latch 35 in the form shape with the ends 36 of the legs of the wire being bent to pivotally fit around lugs 37 struck out of the side flanges of the locking device. The bight of the wire passes around the outside of arms 28 and over the top of the arms as shown in Fig. 1 and is so dimensioned that when the U-shape is pivoted away from the back portion 21, the arms are compressed towards each other. The arms normally diverge from each other and are pressed together into the dotted position shown in Fig. 4 by means of the U-shaped latch.

The latch is held in locking position by means of stops or bumps 39 formed in the arms. When it is desired to unlock the device, the latch is pivoted toward the back portion around pivot lugs 37 and the resiliency of the arms permit the latch to pass over the bumps 39 whereupon the arms open relative to each other and permit removal of the bulb from the jaws.

. With this device, the bulb is securely locked to the posts so that it cannot be removed except deliberately and with great manual effort. Moreover, the locking device is not permanently secured to the post and may be easily secured to the post by slipping it over the post. Hence, the locking device may be easily mounted upon any post Where there is a danger of a bulb becoming disengaged.

This invention may be further developed within the scope of the following attached claims. it is desired that the foregoing descriptionbe read as being merely illustrative of an operative embodiment of this invention and not in a strictly limiting sense.

We claim:

1. A locking device for locking the end of a fluorescent bulb to a holder of the type having a post with a front face upon which the bulb end is supported and to which it is connected, comprising a single flat sheet of thin springy material, such as sheet metal, bent into a back portion of a shape to fit against the back of the bulb support post,

of a wire bent into a U- Patented Oct. 4, 1960' Accordingly,

the side edges of theba'clc portion each being bent to form sideflangesto form a channel with the back portion for enclosing the post in said channel and each of the side flanges having a front-flange bent towards the opposite side "flange'an'd spaced from the back portionto extend around the front face of the post to thus-envelopthe post: between theback'portion, theside flanges and thefront flanges, and the side flanges also" having a pair of springy arms integral therewith and extending out means for releasably securing the holder within the channel consisting of at least a portion of said front flanges being bent towards thehack portion to contact and resiliently press against the front face of the post so as to press the post against the baclc portion and thereby frictionally' and releasably secure the post between the back portion and the front'flanges. 7

3; A construction as defined in'claim l and wherein the compressing means. comprises a latch in the form of awire'bent into a U-shape, with each of the ends of the legs of the U being pivotall'y connected'to a respective side flange and with the bight of the U passing around the outside of the arms, with the arms being enclosed within the two legs of the U-shape, the free ends of the arms normally diverging away from each other and the space between the legs of the U-shape being less than 35 the space between the normally diverging arms near their respective jaws, so that pivoting of the wire towards the jaws compresses the arms towards each other into a bulb locking position, and stop means formed on the arms for releasably locking the wire in the pivoted position where it'compresses the arms towards eachother.

4. A locking device for locking the end of an elongated type fluorescent bulb on a holder of the type having an elongated post with a front face upon which an end of the bulb is connected, comprising a single, flat sheet of thin, springy metal formed into an elongated back portion arranged to fit against the back of the post and having its long side edges bent, into side flanges to form a channel having an open mouth into which channel a post may be snuglyffitted, the free edge of each side flange, near one end of the device, being bent into a springy front flange extending toward the; opposite side flange, which front flanges are spaced in front of the back portion to at least partially close a portion of the open mouth of the channel and which front flanges are arranged to overlap and press against a part of the front face of the post to squeeze the posts towards the back portion and thus secure the posts within the channel; the free edges of each of the side flanges being extended, near the opposite end of the device, into normally diverging springy arms terminating in jaws arranged on opposite sides of the post, and means for compressing the arms towards each other and locking the arms in compressed position for gripping a bulb between the jaws.

5. A construction as defined in claim'4 and including at least a portion ofthe front flanges being bent towards the back portion and being resiliently movable towards and away from the back portion for spring pressing the post against the back portion within the channel.

References Cited in-the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,388,883 Taylor Nov. 13, 1945 2,505,775 Hubbell May 2, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 940,669 France j May 31, 1948 

